#cyanobacteria — Public Fediverse posts

Appreciation for Cyanobacteria (and the humble species of the Nostoc genus)

“It is certainly no exaggeration to say that we owe our existence in present form to cyanobacteria.” - Kartik Aiyer, PhD, University of Aarhus

Behind the Shady Hollow Community Center in southwest Austin, Texas is a concrete slab. It may be related to a water treatment facility that was decommissioned a couple decades ago. During dry weather, one can find at one end of it dark patches of crunchy stuff that most persons would probably think is leaf litter or unidentifiable crud. But, when it rains, runoff water puddles at that end of the slab and the crunchy black stuff quickly becomes dark-green icky glop when it rehydrates. Look closely. It is a species of a cyanobacteria of the Nostoc genus. Some sources indicate it can survive 100 years in the dehydrated state. Cyanobacteria are believed to have evolved on Earth about 3.5 billion years ago and the Nostoc species about 600 million years ago. I take a deep breath, feel the effects of oxygen in my lungs, and appreciate the indispensable contribution that humble cyanobacteria made to my very existence. I have included photos that show the Nostoc from a distance and up close to reveal its photosynthetic chlorophyll.

https://asm.org/articles/2022/february/the-great-oxidation-event-how-cyanobacteria-change

#Nature #Evolution #Biology #Cyanobacteria #Nostoc #Oxygen #Aarhus #Denmark #TIL

Working on The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope - Long Exposure Timelapses

#Atmosphere #Atmosphericscience #Bacteria/archaea #BiologicalClassification #Cleanroom #Clouds #Cyanobacteria(bluegreenAlgae) #EarthScience

⏩ 2 new pictures and 2 new videos from NASA (SVS) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:ListFiles?limit=10&user=OptimusPrimeBot&ilshowall=1&offset=20260423125546

Working on The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope - Long Exposure Timelapses

#Atmosphere #Atmosphericscience #Bacteria/archaea #BiologicalClassification #Cleanroom #Clouds #Cyanobacteria(bluegreenAlgae) #EarthScience

⏩ 2 new pictures and 2 new videos from NASA (SVS) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:ListFiles?limit=10&user=OptimusPrimeBot&ilshowall=1&offset=20260423125546

Working on The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope - Long Exposure Timelapses

#Atmosphere #Atmosphericscience #Bacteria/archaea #BiologicalClassification #Cleanroom #Clouds #Cyanobacteria(bluegreenAlgae) #EarthScience

⏩ 2 new pictures and 2 new videos from NASA (SVS) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:ListFiles?limit=10&user=OptimusPrimeBot&ilshowall=1&offset=20260423125546

Working on The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope - Long Exposure Timelapses

#Atmosphere #Atmosphericscience #Bacteria/archaea #BiologicalClassification #Cleanroom #Clouds #Cyanobacteria(bluegreenAlgae) #EarthScience

⏩ 2 new pictures and 2 new videos from NASA (SVS) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:ListFiles?limit=10&user=OptimusPrimeBot&ilshowall=1&offset=20260423125546

El moco o mierda de bruja (Nostoc commune) es una cianobacteria colonial que crece tanto en tierra como en agua dulce, viéndose a menudo tras las lluvias. 📷Ruth & Joe Barrett #cyanobacteria #cianobacterias

Кое-что новое про цианобактерии (цианобактерии и ближний инфракрасный свет; заголовок неоправдано нью-васюковский): https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/cz7gre32731o #cyanobacteria #speleology #NIR #scipop

Кое-что новое про цианобактерии (цианобактерии и ближний инфракрасный свет; заголовок неоправдано нью-васюковский): https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/cz7gre32731o #cyanobacteria #speleology #NIR #scipop

Кое-что новое про цианобактерии (цианобактерии и ближний инфракрасный свет; заголовок неоправдано нью-васюковский): https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/cz7gre32731o #cyanobacteria #speleology #NIR #scipop

Researchers reproduced the simplest natural #circadian system found in blue-green algae (#cyanobacteria ) within a test tube, demonstrating how a single clock signal coordinates daily #gene switching.
#MolecularBiology #Biotechnology #Chronobiology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/02/mbio02102601.html

#Cyanobacteria are key #ecological players of global carbon and nitrogen cycles. They are also becoming increasingly important for carbon-neutral biotechnology. They could serve as green cell factories for a light-driven and sustainable production of #chemicals and #fuels
#Biotechnology #Microbiology #MolecularBiology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/01/btech01142601.html

#GreatGreenWall 2.0: #China is #geoengineering #deserts with blue-green #algae
These specially selected strains of #cyanobacteria can survive extreme heat and drought for long periods, according to China Science Daily on Thursday. When rain finally comes, they spring to life, spreading rapidly and forming a tough, biomass-rich crust over the sand. This living layer stabilises the dunes and creates the perfect foundation for future plant growth.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3338326/great-green-wall-20-china-geoengineering-deserts-blue-green-algae

Earth-like #planets orbiting small, red #stars known as M-dwarfs are often considered the right size and at the right distance from their sun to harbor #life.

However, these worlds may not have the right kind of light to support multicellular organisms.

Here on Earth, #plants and #bacteria turn sunlight into energy through #photosynthesis, releasing oxygen as a byproduct.

During the Great Oxidation Event around 2.3 billion years ago, significant quantities of #oxygen began to accumulate in our #atmosphere, eventually reaching levels capable of supporting multicellular life.

According to our understanding, a similar process would have to occur on other planets for complex life to start evolving.

#Photosynthesis requires a specific kind of light from 400 to 700 nanometers that plants, #algae and #cyanobacteria need to thrive.

Although it was known that light from M-dwarf stars like TRAPPIST-1 is mostly #infrared, which falls outside this range, what was unknown was how this would slow down the evolutionary clock.

By comparing light from these red stars to our own sun and modeling the oxygen production of various #bacteria, redearchers calculated that because these stars produce so little usable energy, the accumulation of oxygen would be far too slow.

Potentially, on a #planet like TRAPPIST-1e, it would take 63 billion years in a worst-case scenario to reach the oxygen levels seen on Earth through photosynthesis.

#astronomy #astrobiology #exoplanets
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-complex-life-planets-orbiting-galaxy.html

Preprint by Soliz & Welsh (2026):
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.02548

RE: https://ecoevo.social/@DrPlanktonguy/115554189599941981

When large quantities of brown #algae are repeatedly #washedashore over an extended period, my first question as an acarologist is naturally which interesting, and possibly phoretic, terrestrial #organisms, such as mites, are specifically #adapted to these #conditions. But these algae are a phenomenon with #ecological #repercussions that must be understood. It is particularly interesting, thus, that it is the #phosphorus content that affects #symbiotic #cyanobacteria, which promote algal growth

RE: https://ecoevo.social/@DrPlanktonguy/115554189599941981

When large quantities of brown #algae are repeatedly #washedashore over an extended period, my first question as an acarologist is naturally which interesting, and possibly phoretic, terrestrial #organisms, such as mites, are specifically #adapted to these #conditions. But these algae are a phenomenon with #ecological #repercussions that must be understood. It is particularly interesting, thus, that it is the #phosphorus content that affects #symbiotic #cyanobacteria, which promote algal growth

RE: https://ecoevo.social/@DrPlanktonguy/115554189599941981

When large quantities of brown #algae are repeatedly #washedashore over an extended period, my first question as an acarologist is naturally which interesting, and possibly phoretic, terrestrial #organisms, such as mites, are specifically #adapted to these #conditions. But these algae are a phenomenon with #ecological #repercussions that must be understood. It is particularly interesting, thus, that it is the #phosphorus content that affects #symbiotic #cyanobacteria, which promote algal growth

RE: https://ecoevo.social/@DrPlanktonguy/115554189599941981

When large quantities of brown #algae are repeatedly #washedashore over an extended period, my first question as an acarologist is naturally which interesting, and possibly phoretic, terrestrial #organisms, such as mites, are specifically #adapted to these #conditions. But these algae are a phenomenon with #ecological #repercussions that must be understood. It is particularly interesting, thus, that it is the #phosphorus content that affects #symbiotic #cyanobacteria, which promote algal growth

RE: https://ecoevo.social/@DrPlanktonguy/115554189599941981

When large quantities of brown #algae are repeatedly #washedashore over an extended period, my first question as an acarologist is naturally which interesting, and possibly phoretic, terrestrial #organisms, such as mites, are specifically #adapted to these #conditions. But these algae are a phenomenon with #ecological #repercussions that must be understood. It is particularly interesting, thus, that it is the #phosphorus content that affects #symbiotic #cyanobacteria, which promote algal growth

Researchers at McGill University have identified #bacteria that can indicate whether a blue-green #algae ( #cyanobacteria ) bloom is likely to be toxic, offering a potential water-safety early warning system.
#Microbiology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2025/11/mcb11032501.html

Carlos J. Pardo-De la Hoz et al. studied the evolutionary history of the cyanobacteria Nostoc, demonstrating that rapid radiations are major contributors to the complex speciation history of this group.

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf244

#evobio #molbio #cyanobacteria

Four cyanobacterial glycosyl transferase family 35 α-glucan phosphorylases of types I and II were biochemically characterized and one was crystallized and crystallographically analyzed #Cyanobacteria #CyanobacterialStarch #Glycogen https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X25007770

Four cyanobacterial glycosyl transferase family 35 α-glucan phosphorylases of types I and II were biochemically characterized and one was crystallized and crystallographically analyzed #Cyanobacteria #CyanobacterialStarch #Glycogen https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X25007770

Four cyanobacterial glycosyl transferase family 35 α-glucan phosphorylases of types I and II were biochemically characterized and one was crystallized and crystallographically analyzed #Cyanobacteria #CyanobacterialStarch #Glycogen https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053230X25007770

The #ocean’s most abundant #microbe is near its breaking point

Tiny ocean microbes called #Prochlorococcus, once thought to be #climate survivors, may struggle as seas warm. These #cyanobacteria drive 5% of Earth’s #photosynthesis and underpin much of the marine #food web. A decade of research shows they thrive only within a narrow #temperature range, and warming oceans could slash their #populations by up to 50% in tropical waters.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250909031505.htm

The #ocean’s most abundant #microbe is near its breaking point

Tiny ocean microbes called #Prochlorococcus, once thought to be #climate survivors, may struggle as seas warm. These #cyanobacteria drive 5% of Earth’s #photosynthesis and underpin much of the marine #food web. A decade of research shows they thrive only within a narrow #temperature range, and warming oceans could slash their #populations by up to 50% in tropical waters.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250909031505.htm

The #ocean’s most abundant #microbe is near its breaking point

Tiny ocean microbes called #Prochlorococcus, once thought to be #climate survivors, may struggle as seas warm. These #cyanobacteria drive 5% of Earth’s #photosynthesis and underpin much of the marine #food web. A decade of research shows they thrive only within a narrow #temperature range, and warming oceans could slash their #populations by up to 50% in tropical waters.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250909031505.htm

The #ocean’s most abundant #microbe is near its breaking point

Tiny ocean microbes called #Prochlorococcus, once thought to be #climate survivors, may struggle as seas warm. These #cyanobacteria drive 5% of Earth’s #photosynthesis and underpin much of the marine #food web. A decade of research shows they thrive only within a narrow #temperature range, and warming oceans could slash their #populations by up to 50% in tropical waters.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250909031505.htm

The #ocean’s most abundant #microbe is near its breaking point

Tiny ocean microbes called #Prochlorococcus, once thought to be #climate survivors, may struggle as seas warm. These #cyanobacteria drive 5% of Earth’s #photosynthesis and underpin much of the marine #food web. A decade of research shows they thrive only within a narrow #temperature range, and warming oceans could slash their #populations by up to 50% in tropical waters.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250909031505.htm

Our paper demonstrates a simple method for monitoring harmful #algal_blooms / #cyanobacteria in a #lake over space and time, using #ChlorophyllA as a proxy and open source satellite imagery. You just need a few well-timed chl-a samples from your lake to calibrate an #aquatic chlorophyll index https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjfas-2024-0374 #earthobservation #SatelliteRemoteSensing #PigeonLake #lake_ecology

👉Man & machine occupy the same #EcologicalNiche👈

(2/n)

... species that has so far globally deprived itself of the basis for its life:

#Cyanobacteria in the #GreatOxidationEvent...

@SnowyCA @monotonehell @dgar

Wow.
https://scholar.social/@animalculum/114796850392714655
[email protected] - How #cyanobacteria expand #SoilCrusts in harsh desert environments https://phys.org/news/2025-06-cyanobacteria-soil-crusts-harsh-environments.html paper: https://www.cell.com/the-innovation/fulltext/S2666-6758(25)00150-X

"Upon wetting, M. vaginatus begins migrating toward the surface within minutes, moving within the tunnels. This enables cyanobacteria to secure soil particles and thrive in arid environments."

Lovely blog from #MartynKelly #cyanobacteria #algaedon https://microscopesandmonsters.wordpress.com/2025/07/01/living-rocks-gently-rolling/

Interesting paper for microbial ecology in #microbialCommunities containing #Cyanobacteria: https://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=https://academic.oup.com/ismej/advance-arti[…]747029881:AAZF9b9b2UIWNGDKO-4Atq5apI80&html=&pos=0&folt=rel

#CyanoStat: An #OpenSource #Arduino-controlled platform for #CO2 regulation in #microbial incubators optimized for #cyanobacteria #cultivation:

-add-on device for off-the-shelf microbial #incubator
-cost: 65 €

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2025.e00649
#DIYbio #lab #research #science #instruments #microbiology

#CyanoStat: An #OpenSource #Arduino-controlled platform for #CO2 regulation in #microbial incubators optimized for #cyanobacteria #cultivation:

-add-on device for off-the-shelf microbial #incubator
-cost: 65 €

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2025.e00649
#DIYbio #lab #research #science #instruments #microbiology

#CyanoStat: An #OpenSource #Arduino-controlled platform for #CO2 regulation in #microbial incubators optimized for #cyanobacteria #cultivation:

-add-on device for off-the-shelf microbial #incubator
-cost: 65 €

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2025.e00649
#DIYbio #lab #research #science #instruments #microbiology

And now available in paperback as well as on Kindle:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1958333190/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

#EnvironmentalRacism
#Environmentalism
#Environment
#Environmental
#Bookstodon
#AmWriting
#AmWritingFiction
#WritersOfMastodon
#AuthorsOfMastodon
#Oakland
#SanFranciscoBay
#SanFranciscoBayArea
#SFBay
#SFBayArea
#ScienceFiction
#HardSF
#Cyanobacteria
#GeneticEngineering
#EnvironmentalFiction
#SocialResponsibility
#Toxin
#Algae
#WritingCommunity
#WritersLife
#WritersCommunity
#Novelette

21% мирового океана с 2003 по 2022 годы потемнело, а 10% — посветлело (процесс связывают с фитопланктоном): https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/ce82l8d6zvzo #cyanobacteria #scipop #climatechange #darkeningoftheocean #oceanwarming #globalocean

IT'S OUT!!! Digitally, on Amazon, at least. More platforms and the paperback coming this month.

Blamed for a toxin poisoning the air, Joe is leaving the Bay Area with his 18-month-old daughter. He's trapped in Oakland. Most of the city wants him dead.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D95QGYS5?fbclid=IwY2xjawKq4-ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFVRUM4Z0tmWFBjaHlXOUdDAR7ycjBGpD_0sg016EyCTXA3Pm7x21pdtlk4Zxy7NG8aexudRcHlCWJwrX2vxA_aem__ya3qhR6NlYIl-h3t3Gm3w

#EnvironmentalRacism
#SocialResponsibility
#Cyanobacteria
#GeneticEngineering
#AmWritingSciFi
#AmWriting
#AmWritingScienceFiction
#Bookstodon
#AuthorsOfMastodon
#WritersOfMastodon
#WritingCommunity

Novel Fungus-Cyanobacterium Symbiosis https://schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2025/04/novel-fungus-cyanobacterium-symbiosis.html

A thallus-forming N-fixing fungus-cyanobacterium #symbiosis from subtropical forests https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt4093

"Despite resembling a lichen's vegetative tissue, their sample had an unexpected feature: it was made of interwoven cyanobacterial filaments that enclosed fungal hyphae. Both partners turned out to be previously undescribed species, different from those found in #lichens"

#Fungi #Bacteria #Microbes #Cyanobacteria #NewSpecies

#Lichens are symbionts. There is a #fungal component (most are about 90 percent fungus) and a photosynthetic component (#algae or #cyanobacteria). Whether lichens can survive on #Mars 🔴 depends on the species. https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/04/lichens-can-survive-almost-anything-and-some-might-survive-mars

When a 1-in-100-year #flood washed through the Coorong, it made the vital #microbiome of this #lagoon healthier.

#Desulfobacteraceae #Cyanobacteria #Halanaerobiaceae #Beggiatoaceae

https://theconversation.com/when-a-1-in-100-year-flood-washed-through-the-coorong-it-made-the-vital-microbiome-of-this-lagoon-healthier-252633

#Chlorine plus #UV_light can #detoxify water affected by harmful #algae_blooms

#cyanobacteria #HAB #cyanotoxins #drinking_water

https://phys.org/news/2025-02-chlorine-uv-detoxify-affected-algae.html

#Chlorine plus #UV_light can #detoxify water affected by harmful #algae_blooms

#cyanobacteria #HAB #cyanotoxins #drinking_water

https://phys.org/news/2025-02-chlorine-uv-detoxify-affected-algae.html

A new paper from the "Illuminating Lake Ecosystems" #ILES project (that I was involved in) shows that skyglow-like levels of #LightPollution are sufficient to change the structure of microbial communities in lakes: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135425002295

The "low" treatment was 0.06 lux, which is less than lakes typically get from moonlight. The "high" treatment was 6 lux, which would only be found inside of cities or near harbors with illumination.

#Ecology #Bacteria #Cyanobacteria

💡 Innovative method uses #cyanobacteria to naturally produce 100% #biodegradable #plastics overcoming issues with scalability & #microplastic residues.

📃 Policy Brief: https://doi.org/10.3897/arphapreprints.e147255, published in the #openscience project collection by the #PROMICON #Horizon2020 consortium.

👉 Explore the collection at: https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.coll.239.

👌 So far, it presents a total of 17 project outputs, i.e. 12 research papers published in different journals, project reports, policy briefs & preprints.

@Saket

There is nothing so special about this time, seen from the perspective of an immortal. Anything has happened before. Earth doesn't need us.
The only new thing us that humans, in contrast to the #cyanobacteria of the #GreatOxidationEvent, were conscious:

https://mastodon.social/@HistoPol/113647831074632639

[Now public repost]

#ClimateCatastrophe
#ExtinctionLevelEvent

Yes, the only other species known to me to have ever been so stupid as to have destroyed their whole biosphere on a global level, are #cyanobacteria in the #GreatOxidationEvent in the #Paleoproterozoic Era.

2.4 billion years and #humanity collectively has an #IQ of these ancient bacteria.

Maybe, it deserves to become extinct?

Cheers!

Watch:
https://documentaryuniverse.com/how-bad-was-the-great-oxidation-event/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Oxidation_Event

Image source:
https://documentaryuniverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/maxresdefault-778.jpg

You shouldn't be jumping into Sprague Pond anyway, but really don't jump into it now
https://www.universalhub.com/2024/you-shouldnt-be-jumping-sprague-pond-anyway-really

#Boston #HydePark #Dedham #Readville #cyanobacteria